Evaluation of the Global Longitudinal Strain in FMF: In Relation with Duration of Illness

Özet

Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) on cardiac function via speckle tracking echocardiography (ECG) in pediatric FMF patients without cardiac symptoms and to compare speckle tracking ECG results with the conventional echocardiographic outcomes. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 FMF children aged between 5 and 19 years and 50 healthy children adjusted by age were evaluated for inclusion. Conventional ECG of each participant was performed to investigate mechanical myocardial function. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) measurements were performed using 2D speckle tracking ECG. Results: The mean duration of illness among FMF patients was 4.6±3.1 years. There was no statistically significant relationship between sex and duration of illness (p>0.05). GLS values measured by two-dimensional speckle tracking between the groups were significantly lower in individuals diagnosed with FMF compared to the control group (-18.0±2.0/- 22.5±2.0; p<0.001). The relationship between disease duration and left ventricle-GLS values of individuals diagnosed with FMF was evaluated by spearman correlation analysis. It was observed that left ventricle-GLS values decreased statistically with increasing disease duration. Conclusion: Speckle tracking ECG can provide the chance to reveal subclinical ventricular dysfunction before cardiac dysfunctions progress in children with FMF.